Netflix’s ‘Jewel Thief — The Heist Begins’ review: Style scores over substance in Saif Ali Khan film

Directors: Robbie Grewal, Kookie Gulati

Cast:  Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nikita Dutta, Kunal Kapoor

Rating: 2.5 stars

Sometimes the title of a movie gives it away. This is one such example. Going by past experience, when a film is named Jewel Thief — The Heist Begins, you already know what to expect. There will be an expensive gem. A smart thief. A not-so-smart cop. Loads of slick action. Impersonations and glamorous women. Gadgets that probably won’t even get invented. Edge-of-the-seat-suspense. And loads of fun.

The Saif Ali Khan-Jaideep Ahlawat-starrer, which dropped on Netflix, has all of the above ingredients. Minus the fun.

Let’s face it, most of us Netflix-watching film buffs have been spoilt by the ultimate thriller: Money Heist. Though ludicrous and completely illogical, viewers across the world rooted for the Professor and his band of merry men and women as they carried out daring robberies in banks and minting presses, stretching the limits of imagination and reasoning. And that’s precisely what you expect from a heist film — plenty of entertainment and thieves to cheer for.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Unfortunately, Jewel Thief, directed by Kookie Gulati and Robin Grewal and produced by Sidharth Anand, falls short of almost every expectation. The trailer and promotional song that showed a remarkably fit Ahlawat grooving and showing his movies, raised one’s hopes. Combined with the urbane charm of Khan, it promised to be an entertaining ride that would be a refreshing change from the historicals, south Indian remakes, and sequels that have flooded Bollywood of late. Alas!

[embedded content]

Saif plays Rehan Roy, a suave conman (there is no other kind, so perhaps this adjective is unnecessary) hired by don-turned-art collector Rajan Aulakh (Ahlawat) to steal a rare African diamond called Red Sun. Of course, a thief can’t be a thief in Bollywood without a sob story. So Rehan has an estranged idealistic brother and father who are used as bait by Rajan. The aforementioned diamond, owned by a stupefied African prince, travels to India for an exhibition where Rehan’s task is to steal it from the museum which is supposed to be impregnable with a state-of-the-art security system guarded by lasers (any similarity to Hrithik Roshan’s Dhoom 2 heist is strictly coincidental). Hot on his heels is an allegedly intelligent STF officer Vikram Patel (the talented but neglected Kunal Kapoor) who somehow never reaches a location before Rehan has made his move. Can our charming thief succeed in his mission while outsmarting the wily and untrustworthy kingpin?

Of course, you don’t even need to be a graduate to guess the outcome. In the two-hour runtime, Rehan plays some smart games, cracks a password, plans way ahead of his rivals, double crosses the goons, diverts a plane, criss-crosses continents and woos the don’s wife (Nikita Dutta). So far, so good, and so predictable. In such films, you really don’t question what the lead character does. What we watch out for is how he or she pulls it off. The issue with Jewel Thief is that the entire operation is so easily carried out across all locations that each sequence almost comes across as banal. There is not even a hint of that nail-biting thrill as Rehan goes continent-hopping, accomplishing one job after another with ease in his quest for the diamond. Everything goes according to plan — even the failures — and you can see the plot twist from miles ahead. At one point, a chastened Vikram says: “It was all part of the plan.” It instantly reminded me of Akshay Kumar’s classic phrase ‘Everything is planned’ from moviemaking duo Abbas-Mustan’s cheesy but fun 2001 caper Ajnabee. Come to think of it, some of the curveballs in this film could make them smile.

On the positive side, the production values are above average, with director of photography Jishnu Bhattacharjee giving frames a slick look. However, some of the green screen locations are very evident and the VFX is very basic. The background score suits the theme even if it does not enhance the screenplay in any way.

Jewel Thief isn’t unwatchable; it’s just generic when it could have been so much more, especially with two exciting actors in the lead. Both of them are extremely efficient performers, with the sophisticated, charming and fun-loving conman role tailormade for Khan. Ahlawat, of course, has proved his mettle in every genre and his ruthless but cool don could have been a lot of fun in a more smartly-written film. But like everything else, the script doesn’t really do justice to their talent. The rest of the cast, which includes a sidekick to the don, two fumbling cops, and a sharp hacker/gamer are just blips on the radar. 

Sidharth Anand whose Pathan, War, and Fighter — while not being great cinema — were superbly entertaining has failed to elevate this production beyond the ordinary. The ending, however, suggests a sequel. The point is: do we need one?

PS: If you don’t mind a bit of nostalgia, try and watch the original Jewel Thief, the 1967 Dev Anand classic that had all the elements of a superbly crafted spy heist thriller with incredible music, fantastic performances and delicious twists and turns. Now, that’s an actual rare gem that no one can steal!